


Snow and Stars, Earth and Ice

by Elkian (SuperImposed)



Category: Star Stealing Prince
Genre: AU, Canon-Compliant, Character Death, Everybody Dies, Gen, Suicidal actions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-02-11 23:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2087466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperImposed/pseuds/Elkian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about a boy and his demon, out in the cold.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snow and Stars, Earth and Ice

Snowe is numb to the bone, now. He's relieved; it makes things easier.

 _THOCK._ The shovel is solid and reassuring in his hands as he scoops up the half-frozen slush. The flash-fire has melted every flake of snow in sight, but already the cold wind reclaims its own.

 _THOCK._  He's careful not to slip on the treacherous ground. Not for fear of falling, only that he will not be able to get back up. He has to finish, first.

The icy gales that shred through his hollow frame do nothing to dispel the fug of fire, death, and fear. He can almost taste it as he pants for another meager breath.

 _THOCK._ That will have to be enough - not nearly satisfactory, but he can't possibly make a spot for every citizen in time. He plants the shovel in the pile of slush and mud, and turns towards what he fears to face.

Unconsciously, Snowe's hand slips into his pocket. He cradles the fragments of lives that he recovered: a stained toy cat, a handful of clay wrapped with green ribbon, a burnt corner from a magic tome's pages. He grips them gently and strides forward, forcing his eyes to focus.

The first are Vera and Richard - least damaged, most painful. He knows he should feel worse about many others, but these tug most at his heart, if he still has one.

They at least can lay together, as close to privacy as he can give. The rest are harder.

He doesn't know what's worse, when an armful crumbles and begins to slip away in the harsh wind, or when he can't find even a scrap to lay to rest. The prince wishes he could believe that they escaped, but he knows better.

He does what he can.

He's numbly aware of the litany in his head; maybe his voice, maybe not. It sounds like the scarecrow, endlessly repeating empty apologies, regrets. It wasn't supposed to go like this, it wasn't supposed to be anyone but her. Sometimes the words break into screams, desperate pleas for release.

He's not going to give that so easy.

Snowe stumbles, almost dumping Ivy. He recovers, barely, and lays her carefully down. With her right side hidden, pale body huddled against Joshua, she could almost be asleep.

He turns away for the last load. If he had tears left to give, they would be shed here. He sniffs faintly and scoops them up carefully, making sure that both are secure.

Only when the cat and dog are laid next to their families does he take up the shovel again.

The scarecrow is quieter now; tired of his stubbornness or just out of words, Snowe doesn't know. He can hear occasional sneers as he flames the slushpile into pliancy - each tongue of fire is weaker than the last. Soon he'll be out completely... it won't be much longer after that.

He almost falls across the last shovelful. Snowe tosses the tool away and kneels rapidly. The frozen mud is slippery, but for once that's useful - he just has to slide into the last space.

The scarecrow, suspiciously quiet til then, bursts into desperate activity. It clearly didn't realize what he had planned, and is now trying to make a last-ditch effort to survive. It's begging him to get up, to retreat into the remains of the castle, anything. Snowe almost laughs.

The people who trusted him to protect them are dead. The people who raised him, loved him, are dead. Did it really think he was going to leave them behind?

Snowe realizes that the scarecrow is tapped out itself, unable to do more than scream - and soon not even that. He twitches a heavy, numb hand, calling on the last of his magic. The weak flame glimmers against the snowy sky, dancing around the dark silhouette of his gloved hand. Then even that flickers out, and Snowe can't even hold his arm up anymore; he lets it flop heavily across his eyes.

He's never been so cold.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts since I finished SSP, and upon reviewing it I realized it was ready to post, so here we are. 
> 
> The idea was, I believe: Soon before the end of the game, when everyone is gathered in town, Snowe's demon, desperate to escape, takes control of Snowe's body and powers. In the attempt to kill Astra, however, the demon loses control and accidentally flames everybody but Snowe. And, as you can see, our young prince isn't particularly keen to leave the island after that.
> 
> In retrospect, this is a lot like the beginning of Ephemeral Prince, but I'm pretty sure I wrote it before I started reading EP. Huh.
> 
> http://elkian.tumblr.com/post/93925113756/snow-and-stars-earth-and-ice


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